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Fuel Cell Buses in U.S. Transit Fleets: Current Status 2020
3/1/2021
This report, published annually, summarizes the progress of fuel cell electric bus (FCEB) development in the United States and discusses the achievements and challenges of introducing fuel cell propulsion in transit. The report provides a summary of results from evaluations performed by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Renewable Energy Laboratory. This annual status report combines results from all FCEB demonstrations, tracks the progress of the FCEB industry toward meeting technical targets, documents the lessons learned, and discusses the path forward for commercial viability of fuel cell technology for transit buses. The data from these early FCEB deployments funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation, state agencies, and the private sector help to guide future early-stage research and development. The 2020 summary results primarily focus on the most recent year from January 2020 through July 2020.
Authors: Eudy, L.; Post, M.
U.S. Airport Infrastructure and Sustainable Aviation Fuel
2/26/2021
Worldwide, aviation accounts for 2% of all manmade carbon dioxide emissions and 12% of all transportation CO2 emissions In 2018, the U.S. accounted for 25% of the world jet fuel consumption and 21% of global enplanements. Airports and airlines are considering alternative fuel to meet environmental and sustainability goals and mandates. Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), made from non-petroleum feedstocks, has the potential to significantly reduce emissions from air transportation. SAF must be blended with petroleum based jet fuel prior to its use in aircraft. This report explores background information on jet fuel use, quality standards and best practices, airport infrastructure, and options for delivering SAF to airports.
Authors: Moriarty, K. and Kvien A.
Essential Energy: 2021 Ethanol Industry Outlook
2/17/2021
RFA's Ethanol Industry Outlook is an annual publication for information on America's ethanol industry. It provides thoughtful analysis of current issues facing the industry, along with current facts and statistics about the production and use of fuel ethanol.
Notes:
This copyrighted publication can be accessed on the Renewable Fuels Association website.
User Perceptions of the Risks of Electric, Shared, and Automated Vehicles Remain Largely Unexplored
2/12/2021
Advocates of electric, shared, and automated vehicles (e-SAVs) envision a future in which people no longer need to drive their privately owned, petroleum-fueled vehicles. Instead, for daily travel they rely on fleets of electric, automated vehicles that offer travel services, including the option to share, or “pool,” rides with strangers. The design, deployment, and operation of e-SAVs will require widespread willingness of users to share with strangers vehicles that are capable of fully automated driving. To achieve the environmental and societal goals of e-SAVs it is critical to first understand and address safety and security concerns of potential and actual users. Researchers at the University of California, Davis, reviewed the literature to understand potential users’ perceptions of safety and security risks posed by intertwined social and technical systems of e-SAVs and proposed a framework to advance research, policy, and system design. This policy brief summarizes the findings of that work and provides policy implications.
Authors: Kurani, K.
Evaluation of Safety Standards for Fuel System and Fuel Container Integrity of Alternative Fuel Vehicles
2/1/2021
In this report, NREL offers considerations to reflect minimum safety standards, current industry best practices and existing standards for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty CNG and propane vehicle fuel system container integrity, fuel container integrity, and fuel container fire tests. The considerations for fuel system and fuel container integrity requirements are justified by literature review, relevant research, and technical forum feedback. In addition, this report provides relevant research, where available, and identifies test procedures to evaluate compliance with the performance requirements.
Authors: Lynch, L.; Browning, L.; Snelling, A.
Transportation Electrification in North Carolina
2/1/2021
This brief provides an overview of the state of the plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) market and deployment in North Carolina while also highlighting travel patterns and transit agency statistics, along with snapshots of PEV policy and program examples from other states. Statewide transportation electrification roadmaps and funding available through the Volkswagen Settlement have generated momentum in North Carolina and can be harnessed to accelerate the PEV market across the state and position it as a regional and national leader.
Authors: Smith, C.
National Park Service Bus Electrification Study: 2020 Report
2/1/2021
This report summarizes important considerations for implementing battery electric buses (BEBs) in the three national park fleets, detailing information about current buses at each fleet, electric bus demonstration vehicles, and performance evaluations of BEBs in Zion, Bryce, and Yosemite. Results include in-use data collection metrics such as average bus speed, energy usage per trip, and daily distance traveled. Also covered are effects of high heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system use to both heat and cool the buses, emissions estimations before and after use of electric buses, operating costs, electric vehicle infrastructure, maintenance, and bus driver user experience survey information.
Authors: Gilleran, M.; Kotz, A.; Eudy, L.; Kelly, K.
EV Charging Needs Assessment: Identifying Needs and Opportunities for EV Fast Charging in Rural and Underserved Areas of the Intermountain West
2/1/2021
Corridors of the West (CORWest) is a three-year initiative to support plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) infrastructure investment and educational opportunities in rural and underserved areas of the intermountain west. A key first step under the project is to understand barriers to PEV adoption and, more specifically, direct current (DC) fast charger station deployment in rural and underserved areas of the intermountain west, and identify potential pathways for addressing these barriers. To understand barriers to EV adoption and station deployment in rural and underserved areas, the CORWest project team developed a questionnaire that was disseminated to select stakeholder groups to gather feedback. This report provides a summary of trends and typical issues being faced in the region and offers recommendations for ways to address high-priority needs and support PEV deployment and DC fast charger investment.
Authors: Powers, C.
Final Technical Report-WestSmart EV: Western Smart Plug-in Electric Vehicle Community Partnership
1/19/2021
The WestSmartEV (WSEV) project has accelerated adoption of electric vehicles (EV) throughout the PacifiCorp/Rocky Mountain Power’s service territory in the intermountain west by developing a large-scale, sustainable EV charging infrastructure network with coordinated EV adoption programs. The project objectives have strategically deployed 79 direct current fast charging to create two primary electric interstate highway corridors along I-15 and I-80. Additionally, it has incentivized installation of Level 2 chargers at workplace locations, incentivized the purchase of EVs, provided all electric solutions for first- and last-mile trips, provided centralized data collection, analysis, modeling, and tool development to inform investment and policy decisions, and developed education outreach materials and conducted workshops across the WSEV region. This report summarizes the WSEV project efforts.
Authors: Campbell, James
EV Charging and Public/Private Partnerships: RFP Template
1/1/2021
An effective request for proposal (RFP) is often the critical first step towards transportation electrification. This RFP template from Forth Mobility provides essential guidance for cities seeking to expand their electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, especially for projects intended to be owned and operated by a partner vendor at low- or no-cost to the city. The RFP template will assist cities and EV charging infrastructure deployment partners in creating measurable project goals and having a better understanding of what is being asked of them. Further, Forth Mobility has designed the RFP template to support cities in collaborating with the private sector not only to expand EV infrastructure, but also to strengthen public-private partnerships through flexibility and goal fulfillment. Specifically, the RFP template offers cities and private-sector partners guidance on site ownership, payment models, and potential site locations.
Authors: Erin Galiger
Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Trends from the Alternative Fueling Station Locator: Second Quarter 2020
1/1/2021
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fueling Station Locator contains information on public and private non-residential alternative fueling stations in the United States and Canada and currently tracks ethanol (E85), biodiesel, compressed natural gas, electric vehicle (EV) charging, hydrogen, liquefied natural gas, and propane stations. Of these fuels, EV charging continues to experience rapidly changing technology and growing infrastructure. This report provides a snapshot of the state of EV charging infrastructure in the United States in the second calendar quarter of 2020. Using data from the Station Locator, this report breaks down the growth of public and private charging infrastructure by charging level, network, and location. Additionally, this report measures the current state of charging infrastructure compared with the amount projected to meet charging demand by 2030. This information is intended to help transportation planners, policymakers, researchers, infrastructure developers, and others understand the rapidly changing landscape for EV charging.
Authors: Brown, A.; Lommele, S.; Schayowitz, A.; Klotz, E.
Electrification Futures Study: Scenarios of Power System Evolution and Infrastructure Development for the United States
1/1/2021
This report is the fifth publication in a series of Electrification Futures Study (EFS) publications. The report presents scenarios of the U.S. electricity and energy systems through 2050. The scenarios encompass a wide range of future conditions, including the different electrification levels that were developed for the second EFS report. The scenario results include projected changes to the physical infrastructure of the U.S. power system, the utilization of that infrastructure, and estimates of other impacts of electrification to the power system and broader energy system.
Authors: Murphy, C.; Mai, T.; Sun, Y.; Jadun, P.; Muratori, M.; Nelson, B.; Jones, R.
